Apr. 8, 2013

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A reader by the name of Richard Curtis called Monday to offer an interesting theory about corruption in New York government.

He calls it “The Double Tip of the Iceberg Theory.”

Curtis, who lives in Rye Brook, suggested that the crooked politicians who get caught represent no more than 10 percent of the total number committing crimes. He compared it to an iceberg that’s only partially visible above the water line.

“So with every guy they catch, there’s nine more out there,” he said. “And for every person they catch, they’re only nailing them with 10 percent of what they did. That’s why they always plead guilty because if they fight it, they’ll only dig up more dirt on them.”

The double-dip theory is light on science and heavy on cynicism, but I bet most citizens agree with Curtis’ premise — that the level of corruption is actually worse than what has been reported in the headlines.

With 12 state senators getting busted in the past six years — the 12th being Malcolm Smith of Queens — it’s natural to suspect that the rot is deep and malignant.

Look at any opinion poll on the subject and it will tell you that the majority of voters not only believe that corruption is a huge problem, they have little faith in legislative leaders to solve it.

In September, a Quinnipiac University poll showed that 63 percent of voters think that legislative reform efforts in Albany have been “not so good” or “poor.” Only 24 percent thought their efforts were “excellent” or “good.”

In Sunday’s column, I proposed that felonious politicians, regardless of tenure, should automatically be stripped of their retirement once they are convicted. This is the aim of Carl Marcellino, a Long Island Republican who authored a bill that would amend the state constitution, which, as it currently stands, guarantees defined pension benefits to all elected officials — even to the crooks.

There’s the rub, of course. Changing the constitution would require the support and sponsorship of the Senate and Assembly, the members of which few voters trust in the first place.

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Nevertheless, I think it’s a worthy idea. If it doesn’t serve as a sure-fire deterrent, it at least provides a catharsis for taxpayers who are fed up with rampant criminal behavior.

There are many, many other ideas out there to consider.

Here’s just a few:

Raise the pay

One school of thought that says if you raise the pay and make the job of legislator a full-time gig with restrictions placed on outside employment, the temptation to cheat and chisel would be lessened.

The state Legislature’s base pay of $79,500 has been in place since 1999. If just modest cost-of-living raises had been put in place, the salary would be about $108,000 today.

I’m skeptical that any increase in pay would do the trick. Judging from the results of the aforementioned Quinnipiac poll, voters wouldn’t stand for it in any case.

The DiNapoli plan

When state Sen. Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, was nabbed for taking about $500,000 in bribes, more than a few people thought a federal prison term wasn’t enough punishment. Among them was state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who was especially incensed that Kruger would get to keep his estimated pension of $75,000 a year.

Noting the state constitution’s prohibition of pension forfeiture, DiNapoli proposed a law that would make Kruger and other crooked public officials pay equal to twice the amount of money they collected from their criminal deeds.

In Kruger’s case, that would’ve been $1 million.

DiNapoli’s idea went nowhere in the legislative give-and-take over a package of ethics reforms. That should come as no surprise. Once again, I refer you to the Quinnipiac poll.

Term limits

The system is rigged so that incumbents rarely lose. The longer they’re in office, the more power they get — and as Lord Acton observed, power corrupts. How does four two-year term limits sound?

The Rico statute

What’s going on in Albany is more than isolated acts of criminal behavior. It’s a racket.

It’s really no different than organized crime.

Last week, federal prosecutors revealed that a Bronx assemblyman, Nelson Castro, had been an informant for four years and had even worn a wire. Caught on tape was another Bronx Democrat, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, who was charged with taking $22,000 in bribes to serve the interests of local developers.

This is the stuff of mobsters.

Perhaps it’s time to prosecute these guys under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, more popularly known as the RICO statute. The feds have used the RICO statute to go after the Hells Angels, the Gambino crime family, the Latin Kings and countless others.

Anyone charged under the statute would not only face prison and fines but would also have to surrender all the assets they acquired through their nefarious activities.